While high-speed Internet connections to large businesses have been in existence for quite some time, high speed Internet connections to homes and small businesses have only recently become more commonplace. Technologies such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), Cable modems, Satellite, and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), are all competing for market share. The two technologies at the forefront, DSL and Cable, offer much faster Internet access than dial-up modems, for a cost substantially lower than ISDN.
Analog modems communicating over regular telephone lines are not fast enough for today's broadband multi-media content. In fact, so-called 56 Kbps modems actually move data at approximately 44 Kbps because of telephone-line imperfections. Furthermore, these modems only reach that speed when receiving data, not sending it.
Typically, analog modems generally connect to the Internet by dialing-up an Internet Service Provider (ISP) over a regular telephone line. This connection is a permanent connection known as a physical circuit. Generally, a Point-to-Point (PPP) data link protocol is used to provision the physical circuit.
DSL, on the other hand, is 250 times faster than a 33.6 Kbps analog modem. DSL, as used herein, refers to different variations of DSL, such as ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line), HDSL (High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line), and RADSL (Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line).
Most DSL communications that traverse public networks, such as frame relay networks, are established over Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVCs). As the name implies, PVCs are static bidirectional connections that are established ahead of time between two end stations. The PVC is permanently available to the user as if the connection is a dedicated or leased line that is continuously reserved for that user. The PVC connection is established manually when the network is configured and consists of the end stations, the transmission medium, and all of the switches between the end stations. After a PVC has been established, a certain amount of bandwidth is reserved for the PVC, and the two end stations do not need to set up or clear connections. Further details about PVC can be found in Request for Comments (RFC) 2955 and RFC 3070 both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
However, PVCs generally must be provisioned manually and then kept in place regardless of traffic volume. Therefore, one of the major problems facing the rollout of DSL connections that use PVC connections is the cost and complexity of provisioning DSL service. Typically, provisioning DSL service requires a visit by a technician to the remote location for setup of the telephone line and installation and configuration of the DSL modem and client computer. It has been estimated, that a typical service call to install and configure a DSL modem, currently costs in the region of $300 for the DSL ISP.
More recently, the Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), which are traditional local telephone companies such as one of the Regional Bell companies (RBOCs), for example PACIFIC BELL, have started using Point-to-Point over Ethernet (PPPoE) to run the PPP protocol over Ethernet for DSL connections. One such ILEC is AMERITECH of Chicago, U.S.A. PPPoE supports the protocol layers and authentication widely used in PPP and enables a point-to-point connection to be established in the normally-multipoint architecture of Ethernet.
PPPoE allows ILECs to sublease their lines to other dial-up ISPs, while making it easier for ISPs to provision services to support multiple users across a dedicated DSL connection. Still further, PPPoE also simplifies the end-user experience by allowing a user to dynamically select between ISPs. However, complicates the process of delivering PPP over DSL because it requires users to enter their usernames, passwords, and domains. PPPoE also requires the users to install additional PPPoE client software on their client computers.
The PPPoE functionality, available now in version 2.1 of the REDBACK Subscriber Management System (SMS) 1000 system software, is based on a proposed IETF specification developed jointly by REDBACK NETWORKS, client software developer ROUTERWARE (Newport Beach, Calif.) and WORLDCOM subsidiary UUNET Technologies (Fairfax, Va.). Further details on PPPoE can be found in RFC 2516 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The typical user experience with a DSL service using PPPoE involves the following steps:    (1) The user deploys a carrier-supplied Bridging DSL modem pre-configured with a PVC;    (2) The user connects the Ethernet port on a Network Interface Card (NIC) in a client computer to the Ethernet interface on the DSL modem;    (3) The user installs the PPPoE driver;    (4) Using standard WINDOWS dial-up networking capabilities, the user sets up a new PPP connection over the Ethernet-connected DSL modem; and    (5) The user clicks on the particular dial-up networking connection, provides the appropriate user name, domain, and password and clicks connect.
The result is the establishment of a PPP session over Ethernet. This PPP session over Ethernet is bridged by the DSL modem to an ATM PVC which connects in an ISP POP (Point of Presence) to a device, such as a REDBACK SMS 1000, capable of terminating an DSL PPP session. At this point, the user has established a connection to the ISP using a model virtually identical to the dial-up analog model, with a notable exception of a faster connection speed and a greater available bandwidth afforded by DSL. Importantly, the entire collection of PPP protocols is unaltered. The Ethernet is simply used as a means to carry PPP messages between a client (client computer) and a remote server. The ISP perceives the connection as a standard PPP session from one of the ISPs subscribers. Also beneficial to the ISP is the fact that if additional user PCs initiate PPP sessions using the same DSL modem and line, no additional PVCs are required. One PVC can support an arbitrary number of PPP sessions, minimizing configuration complexity in the carrier central office.
However, DSL service using PPPoE has a number of disadvantages. First, because the user has to log-in each time a connection is desired, or each time the modem is turned on, a dynamic and not static Internet protocol (IP) address is usually assigned to the client computer and/or DSL modem.
An IP address is the address of a computer attached to a TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) network, where every network device (client or server) in a network must have a unique IP address. Client computers either have a static, i.e., permanent, IP address or one that is dynamically assigned to them for each communication session. The dynamic IP addresses is typically automatically assigned to the client computer by a DHCP server. Network devices that serve multiple users, such as servers and printers, require a static IP address that does not change so that data can always be directed to that particular network device. For example, having a static IP address allows a user to set up a Web-server on his/her client computer. Therefore, it is advantageous to have a static IP address and not a dynamic address as typically assigned in a PPPoE network.
A second disadvantage is that each time a PPP connection is made, the user must supply a user name, domain name, and password, such as:
User name/domain:user1111@company.comPassword:password1111
The need for a domain introduces additional complexity into the system, as the ISP must inform the user in advance which domain name to use.
Therefore, even with the above described advances, DSL users typically still have to at least partly configure their DSL modems themselves by manually entering configuration information into the client computer. In addition, the DSL ISPs also typically spend a substantial amount of resources providing telephone assistance to talk DSL users through the installation and configuration process. Still further, the service provider often still needs to send out technicians to the user to install and configure the DSL system. This process is both costly and time consuming.
A need therefore exists for an easier means for provisioning DSL service using PPPoE that can be undertaken by a user with little, or no, technical skill or know-how.